College Basketball Capsules: Roberts out after six seasons at St. John's

NEW YORK — The weeks of talk on whether coach Norm Roberts would return to St. John’s ended Friday: He was fired after six seasons with the Red Storm — only two of them with a winning record.

"To say it was a difficult decision would be to minimize it," St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch said. "Norm took over a program that was at a low point and at a time when there was a minimal amount of Big East level talent. Norm has restored integrity to our basketball program."

But he didn’t win enough games.

The Red Storm lost to Memphis in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday to finish the season at 17-16, giving Roberts an 81-101 record with the school. St. John’s has not been in the NCAA tournament since 2002.

Roberts told The Associated Press on Friday that St. John’s handled everything "with class."

"They really tried to support us and give us what we needed to be successful and we were," he said. "This program was in disarray in a lot of different ways and we were able to move it to postseason play."

St. John’s returns all five starters and 94 percent of the scoring from last season’s team. But whether Roberts would run the team next season was a big question the past six weeks.

The Red Storm won three of four games, including wins over Louisville and Notre Dame, to raise the possibility that Roberts had done enough to earn a reprieve. Then came three straight losses followed by two wins, including a 73-51 thrashing of Connecticut in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

Marquette beat St. John’s in the second round of the Big East tournament and the Red Storm lost to Memphis, both by two points.

"We were monitoring how things were going all season and said we look at the program at the end of the season," Monasch said. "It’s easy to get caught up in the highs and lows on a daily basis. That’s the beauty of a 30-game season, that you have the entire year to assess where we are."

Roberts was a longtime assistant to Bill Self at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas, where he earned the repuation as a stellar recruiter. He took over at St. John’s when it was coming off a 6-21 season under Mike Jarvis and interim coach Kevin Clark that was marred by off-court issues that resulted in probation and a loss of scholarships.

Monasch delivered the news to Roberts on Thursday night.

"It was certainly emotional," Monasch said. "I believe there is a sincere affection among the parties. It would have been a great thing to be successful under Norm. We gave him enough time."

Roberts said the junior class will be "the guys who get St. John’s over the hump and gets us back in the national spotlight. ... The have a chance to be a super basketball team because they finally got it, they finally knew how to play hard and to your ability and with passion."

Including four years at Division II Queens College, Roberts’ record as a head coach is 105-185.

Roberts said he would "take a couple of deep breaths."

"I’ll try to relax a little and enjoy my family," he said. "My older son turned 18 on March 12 and because of it being the end of the season, I barely said ‘Happy Birthday’ to him."

Monasch said he would not use a search firm or committee to select the new coach.

"We want to hire someone who has a record of success of getting into the NCAA tournament," Monasch said. "In trying to find the right person, probably the safest choice is someone who has done it at this level, someone who believes in the mission of school and understands New York."

This was the second coaching firing in the Big East in two days, following Bobby Gonzalez’s ouster at Seton Hall on Wednesday. Monasch said that shouldn’t affect his search.

"The fact Seton Hall is also in the market for a new coach is not a concern to me," he said. "There are enough good coaches out there that we’ll both find someone we’ll be happy with."

Monasch said the school is ready to offer a salary that could place the new coach among the highest paid in the country.

"Depending on who the coach is we will make the financial commitment and a length of time that is appropriate," he said.

NCAA Tournament Notebook: Fredette’s illness pays off for BYU in NCAAs

OKLAHOMA CITY — Losing leading scorer Jimmer Fredette to a midseason bout with mononucleosis might just have provided the boost BYU needed to break a first-round jinx in the NCAA tournament.

It helped coach Dave Rose discover what reserve Michael Loyd Jr. could do, and the sophomore came up big for the seventh-seeded Cougars (30-5) in a double-overtime win against Florida in BYU’s tournament opener.

Loyd went off for a career-high 26 points — he had been averaging only 4.6 — and rallied his team back from a four-point deficit by scoring all of the Cougars’ points in overtime. He also hit the 3-pointer in the second overtime that put BYU ahead to stay.

His playing time had been tapering off when Fredette — having just scored a school record 49 points in a win at Arizona — was diagnosed with the virus that can sap a person’s energy for weeks, if not longer.

"That kind of forced me into a role to maybe show that I have a little bit more talent than I gave myself credit for," Loyd said Friday, reflecting on being thrust into the starting lineup in January. "I would say it helped me develop into a better player, just knowing what I can do."

Loyd took on a bigger role as BYU beat Eastern New Mexico without Fredette and moved into the Top 25 for the first time this season. Then he started and played a career-high 33 minutes in a win against UTEP.

Before being forced into a bigger role, Loyd admitted he was "maybe a little gunshy."

With his playing time increasing of late, Loyd has scored in double figures four times in BYU’s last six games.

"There are times when people game-plan for Jimmer, and you need a Michael Loyd with the skills that he has to dribble, to penetrate, to make little floaters, to hit shots, and you can use that option when they guard certain ways ... to stop Jimmer," Rose said.

REYNOLDS THE ROLE MODEL: Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds was adopted as a baby and has an inspiration for other children who were adopted. He’s flooded with e-mails, calls and messages from others like him and from people who want Reynolds to talk to children of adopted parents, or just the parents, for tips and advice.

"He said, ‘I’d like to help everybody,"’ coach Jay Wright said. "He tries every time he can if someone meets him to always talk to people, he goes out of his way."

Reynolds has been on a search for his biological mother. He hired a private investigator to find her and has her phone number tucked away. He has not called her yet.

He was born in Alabama and was the first of three adopted children for Rick and Pam Reynolds (who also had three biological children). They raised him in Illinois and Virginia and have been supportive of his pursuit. His biological mother was 18 when she had Reynolds — a year younger than Reynolds was when he discovered her identity. Now 22, Reynolds is waiting for the perfect time to meet her.

Reynolds is 30 points away from becoming No. 2 seed Villanova’s career leading scoring. The Wildcats play Saint Mary’s on Saturday.

Reynolds said he feels no pressure living as a role model to kids or to his own teammates.

"I think that you want to be the best player you can be," he said. "You want to be the best person you can be. That’s what coach Wright intends to do at Villanova, is to push you and to drive you to be the best player you can be."

LOSING WEIGHT: Saint Mary’s center Omar Samhan put his redshirt year to good use. He lost weight.

Samhan said he weighed 310 pounds as a freshman and went to work on shedding pounds. The 6-foot-11 senior has lost 60 pounds and averaged a double-double this season with 21.2 points and 11 rebounds for the 10th-seed Gaels.

"I wasn’t really ready to play at that time," said Samhan, who’s second on the school’s career scoring and rebounding lists. "I talked to coach (Randy) Bennett and there were other big guys in front of me. With the weight and everything else, he thought it would be a good idea to redshirt, work hard and get in shape. He thought if I could do that, I could have a special career when all was said and done."

Samhan had 29 points and 12 rebounds despite spending most of the game in foul trouble in the Gaels’ 80-71 win over Richmond in the first round.

HOME SWEET HOME: With a win against No. 2 seed Kansas State, BYU would get the chance to play its regional games next weekend in Salt Lake City.

"It would be great for us to be able to go back to Salt Lake and be able to play in front of kind of a home crowd basically," Fredette said. "That would be a great thing for our program, for our fans and everything but obviously, we can’t look ahead. We’ve got a huge game ahead and they’re a very, very, very talented team, so we have to be ready to go."

The Cougars are only 2-6 all-time in NCAA tournament games in Utah. Their last chance came in Salt Lake City in 1991, when they won a first-round game against Virginia and lost to Arizona in the second round.

"That would be such a home-court advantage with the fans and we could feed off of that," Loyd said. "I may be one of those people that feeds off of the crowd. If it’s positive or negative, I’ll feed off of it anywhere we go. We can go somewhere people don’t like us, and I’m still going to feed off of it."

HENRY HOMECOMING: At coach Bill Self’s urging, Kansas freshman Xavier Henry is ignoring calls, text messages and ticket requests from family and old friends while the top-seeded Jayhawks play in his hometown.

"No distractions for me," Henry said. "I’ve got to stay focused on the game."

Henry and his brother/teammate C.J. played at Putnam City High School, where the Jayhawks practiced after arriving in Oklahoma City this week.

"I always like coming home and I enjoy it. I love being home," Henry said. "I’m a hometown kid and when I’m doing whatever I’m doing, I’m going to live in Oklahoma City. I have no plans to go nowhere else."

QUOTEABLE: "I feel like Medusa sometimes. They all look the other way. They don’t want to look me in the eye." — Kansas State coach Frank Martin on how his players react to his disapproving glare.

-- Jeff Latzke

Eight teams seeded 10th or higher win

There was nothing wrong with having a big number in front of your name in the NCAA tournament bracket.

With the first round winding down, eight teams seeded 10th or higher had won a game, matching last year’s total and one off the record set in 2001.

Ohio University, proudly wearing the 14th seed, was the biggest of Thursday’s five double-digit defeats, beating No. 3 Georgetown 97-83.

Joining the opening day of double trouble were No. 13 Murray State, 66-65 winners over Vanderbilt on Danero Thomas’ 15-foot jumper at the buzzer; two No. 11s which beat Big East teams — Old Dominion over Notre Dame and Washington over Marquette — and No. 10 Saint Mary’s, which beat Richmond.

Cornell, a No. 12 many thought should have been given a better seeding, started Friday’s double delights, beating Temple 78-65, while two No. 10s moved on: Georgia Tech over Oklahoma State and Missouri over Clemson.

"This is what happens in March Madness," Murray State freshman guard John Jenkins said. "I didn’t think it was going to happen and I had no doubt we were going to win that game."

Cornell, one of the best teams to come out of the Ivy League since the days when Princeton was scaring the top teams in the country year after year, handled Temple, the champions of the Atlantic 10 Conference, pretty easily.

"Everyone was saying we were Cinderella or it’s an upset. Not us," Big Red sophomore Chris Wroblewski said.

Ohio’s big win over the Hoyas, who lost to West Virginia in the Big East championship game, was its second stunner of the postseason. The Bobcats won the Mid-American Conference tournament as a No. 9 seed.

"We may not be a better team, just got to be a better team on a given night," Ohio’s Armon Bassett said.

In addition to this year and 2009, there were eight double-digit winners in 2006, 1999, 1998, 1989, 1991.

The low came in 2007 when only two teams seeded 10th or higher advanced.

The breakdown of the record nine in 2001 included No. 15 Hampton over Iowa State and two No. 13s, Indiana State over Oklahoma and Kent State over Indiana. Two of the teams beaten by double-digit seeds this year were on the other side of the result in 2001: Temple, a winner over Texas as a No. 11 seed, and Georgetown, which beat Arkansas as a No. 10 seed.

Smith says talk of move to Auburn is just that

MILWAUKEE — Tubby Smith dismissed a report that he is close to taking over at Auburn, calling it "just talk."

Citing an unidentified source close to the situation, CBSSports.com reported that Auburn is "close" to hiring Smith. But the Minnesota coach denied that and said he has not been offered a job by any other school.

"Obviously it’s just talk, because I’m very pleased with what we’ve accomplished here. I’m pleased with where we are in the program," Smith said after Minnesota’s 65-54 loss to Xavier on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. "I’m looking forward to coming back to Minnesota."

Asked if he’s been offered a job by any other school, Smith quickly said, "No. No, I haven’t."

Auburn fired Jeff Lebo a week ago after his fourth losing season in six years. Smith is a well-known commodity in the SEC, having coached at both Kentucky and Georgia. He led Kentucky to its seventh NCAA title in his first season there and won five SEC championships and five tournament titles with the Wildcats and Bulldogs. He’s had 17 straight 20-win seasons, most among active coaches, and has made the NCAA tournament all but one of those years.

Smith left Kentucky after the 2007 season to take the job at Minnesota, where he has rebuilt a program gutted by an academic cheating scandal. The Gophers (21-14) made the NCAA tournament for a second straight year after just one appearance the previous decade — this despite losing three players expected to play key roles this season.

Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe became involved in legal entanglements before the season, and point guard Al Nolen was ruled academically ineligible in January.

"This team has really grown and matured," Smith said. "A lot of positive things have happened for us over the last couple of weeks — over the last month, as a matter of fact. That’s what we’re going to focus on going forward, that this is just another step of maintaining, continuing to grow the program.

"And there’s some things we have to continue to do recruiting-wise, facility-wise, all kinds of things we can get better at. A lot of areas we have to get better at."

Minnesota loses starters Lawrence Westbrook and Damian Johnson next year. But it returns Blake Hoffarber, its second-leading scorer, and Ralph Sampson III. The Gophers also have signed Austin Hollins, whose father Lionel helped Portland win the 1977 NBA title and now coaches the Memphis Grizzlies.

"I don’t know anything about the rumors," Sampson said. "Coach Smith, he loves it in Minnesota. He likes the program and where he’s at right now."

Obama’s bracket in great shape on Day 2 of NCAAs

NEW YORK — The presidential bracket is looking pretty good after the first round.

President Barack Obama correctly predicted 13 of 16 winners Friday, the second day of the NCAA tournament. That came after he went 12 for 16 on Thursday.

Obama’s only blemishes Friday were 13th-seeded Siena, which lost to fourth-seeded Purdue 72-64; ninth-seeded Florida State, which fell to No. 8 seed Gonzaga 67-60; and No. 9 seed Louisville, which was defeated by eighth-seeded California 77-62.

The Big East has been a big bummer for The First Fan. Four of his seven losses have been by teams from the conference that received a tournament-high eight bids.

Obama took a few chances in his bracket, which he filled out for ESPN for the second straight year. Siena was the second No. 13 seed he picked; he correctly chose Murray State to upset fourth-seeded Vanderbilt on Thursday.

Obama also had 12th-seeded Cornell topping No. 5 seed Temple — and the Big Red came through with a 78-65 victory Friday.

And how’s this for some presidential prognostication? He also has his Final Four still intact with Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky and Villanova. Obama predicted North Carolina’s national championship victory last year, when his bracket ranked 903,125th overall — just above the 80th percentile in ESPN’s online contest.

His biggest miss so far was Georgetown, which he predicted would reach the round of eight. The Hoyas, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional, were stunned by 14th-seeded Ohio 97-83 on Thursday.

Marquette was his only other pick for the round of 16 that has lost. The sixth-seeded Golden Eagles were edged by No. 11 seed Washington 80-78 on Thursday night.

Obama has only one team eliminated in each of the Midwest (Georgetown) and West (Florida State) Regionals. He’s down two teams in the East Regional, and three in the South Regional.

-- Dennis Waszak Jr.

Shot clock malfunction delays Louisville-Cal game

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Louisville-California game has started after a 15-minute delay because of a shot clock malfunction.

The shot clock above one basket mysteriously stopped working during pregame warmups. Officials sent both teams off the court and had a maintenance crew go to work. It was unclear what caused the clock to stop working, but a worker spent several minutes jiggling wires before it lit up.

The crowd cheered loudly. The teams ran onto the court and started warming up again. The game started 15 minutes late.

The shot clock had worked perfectly for the three earlier games.

Oakland F Nelson leaves game with cut over eye

MILWAUKEE — Oakland forward Derick Nelson returned to start the second half after a gash over his left eye forced him to leave the game against Pittsburgh.

With about 10 minutes remaining in the opening half of Friday’s first-round NCAA tournament game, Panthers center Gary McGhee appeared to inadvertently hit Nelson with an elbow after McGhee was fouled in the act of shooting, leaving blood trickling from the cut. Nelson spent several minutes on the floor before getting up and walking to the locker room, escorted by trainers.

Nelson is a starter for the Golden Grizzlies, averaging 12.4 points per game.

Second former Seton Hall player arrested

NEWARK, N.J. — Police have arrested a second former Seton Hall men’s basketball player on charges stemming from an armed robbery in New Jersey.

Police arrested Kelly Whitney in Newark on Thursday night. Kathy Carter, spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, says the 27-year-old acted as an accomplice with former junior forward Robert Mitchell.

The 23-year-old Mitchell has pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of robbing eight people at gunpoint in a South Orange home on Monday.

Mitchell was kicked off the team Sunday. Whitney is a Chicago native who was a standout for the Pirates through the 2006 season.

Carter says Whitney faces robbery, kidnapping and weapons charges. No court appearance has been scheduled and it’s not clear if he has a lawyer.

Black Hills State coach to succeed Meyer

ABERDEEN, S.D. — Black Hills State men’s basketball coach Paul Sather will succeed coaching legend Don Meyer at Northern State.

The NCAA Division II school in Aberdeen made the announcement Friday.

Sather has spent the past five seasons as the head coach at Black Hills State, an NAIA school in Spearfish.

The 65-year-old Meyer is battling health problems and retiring. He finished his career with a record of 923-324. The NCAA considers Meyer the winningest men’s college basketball coach, even though his career was split between the NAIA and NCAA.

This past season, Philadelphia University’s Herb Magee passed Bob Knight’s 902 wins mark counting only NCAA games and Harry Statham at NAIA powerhouse McKendree University notched his 1,000th victory.

UCF signs deal with Nike after Jordan controversy

ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida has signed an agreement with Nike to provide shoes and apparel for all the university’s sports.

The joint announcement Friday comes after Adidas ended any future sponsorship with UCF in November, in part because of the national attention caused after basketball player Marcus Jordan wore his famous father’s Nike Air Jordans.

The freshman guard had said he would only wear the shoes of his father, Michael Jordan, because they hold special meaning to his family.

The contract with Nike begins July 1. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.